Saturday, 28 November 2009

(Biz tool Kits)BY BRIDGET OLOTUTHE world is under a big threat by the growing army of financial illiterates that we have. Some of the social crisis in many parts of the world and in our dear country — armed robbery, kidnappings, arsons, burglaries, assassinations, and other vices threatening our corporate existence, are mostly a fallout and reflection of our lack of financial information. When that young chap knows he doesn’t have to steal or rob a bank to live a respectable and even wealthy life, he would chart his life accordingly. Most people do what they do because they think they have no hope and future financially. Until our educational system incorporates financial education into our current educational curricula, we may be raising more educated people who lack financial literacy and who may not be able to grapple with the challenges of the brave new world we live in.

ACHIEVING financial integrity in the New World order therefore should become our focus as individuals and governments. Even at the government level, we have political leaders who lack financial intelligence. So when the man gets into governance, he runs government business aground. To improve our financial situation therefore, we need to be able to read, understand and interpret our financial statement to determine where we are, know where we intend to go and how we intend to get there. What is your financial statement? It is basically the statement that shows what assets you have, what liabilities you have accumulated, what your income is and what your expenses are. That is a layman’s definition however. Your financial statement is what now produces your financial report card. How can you determine your financial statement and begin to work to improve it? There are four areas we can determine our financial integrity. They are: assets, liabilities, expenses and income. I’ll briefly treat this from the rear.

Income. Your income statement is one important aspect of your financial statement. It determines your financial future and well-being. You must explore all legitimate ways to increase your income otherwise you’ll be forced to live below your means, or spend more than you earn, thus getting into debt, or you may be forced to resort to some violent activity to help yourself. The more streams of income you have, the more money you make, and the more financially intelligent you are, the richer you can become. To increase your income too, you need to manage your time and money effectively.

Expense. You can tell a person’s future by looking at what they spend their time and money on. Time and money are very important assets. Spend them wisely. Most poor people say they don’t have money to go for more education or to add to their business. But when you look at their expense sheet, you’ll discover they are just kidding. They are actually wasting resources. Watch your habits, your attitude to money, your preferences and appetite. Some people’s financial future will be hurting because of the clothes they wear, what they eat, where they go, the relationships they keep and generally their lifestyle. Assets. An asset is what puts money in your pocket. So, that house you live in, that car you are riding in, etc, as long as it doesn’t put money in your pocket is not an asset but a liability. And you cannot determine your net worth with such assets until they are actually sold. Another mentor of mine categorises assets into two: productive and non-productive. This means, one asset puts money in your pocket and the other doesn’t. But you know, most people’s financial report card reads “financial failure” because they have carefully acquired more non-productive assets than real assets that should put money in their pockets.

Liabilities. A liability is anything that takes money out of your pocket. The irony is, we all cannot live without liabilities. But smart and financially intelligent people create more real assets to take care of their liabilities. We all need good cars, great houses, fine clothes, sound education, etc. These take money out of our pocket. But they are also necessities. So we need to acquire real assets, i.e. income generating investments, to cancel out these liabilities. Putting these four items together will help you to determine how much you’re worth, where and what you’re spending your money on, how much you’re earning and why and what your financial future is. These items will produce your financial report card. What does your financial report card read?

Lane change(Just Life)BY OMOLIGHO UDENTAIT was a Friday and their school had closed earlier than usual. She decided that instead of taking them straight home as she normally did, they would go for a drive. They stopped to get a few snacks and made their way to Ikorodu Road. Everything was going just fine. They were excited to be out, sightseeing and the meat pies and doughnuts and drinks were filling their little tummies quite nicely. There were a few arguments about who was to seat where but she was able to distract them by getting them to sing rhymes and everyone got into a jolly good mood. Just after Maryland, she noticed that there was this traffic build-up on the lane she was on. She craned her neck and tried to see what could be the cause. There was this huge truck making its way rather slowly and majestically way upfront. As you can imagine, cars were jostling to get on the lane that the truck wasn’t, so there were sharp turns and swerves, which she didn’t like at all; particularly as she had her kids in the car. She decided to avoid it all by getting on the lane the truck was on thinking that at least this way she’d get to avoid the crazy impatient drivers trying to change lanes. But it wasn’t until she got on the said lane that she noticed that the doors on the back of the truck didn’t seem to be properly locked, in fact, some clumps of dirt and pieces of paper were finding their way out of the truck and onto the road. She hoped nothing bigger would fall out of the truck!

AHEY hadn’t gone another 20 metres or so when they heard a bang and then the sound of screeching tyres. A gas cylinder had fallen out of the truck! Fortunately, there was enough space for her to avoid the cylinder as it rolled onto the next lane but the cars on the other lane had to stop to avoid hitting the cylinder. Fortunately there was no accident, just frayed and shaken nerves. Meanwhile the truck ambled on, totally oblivious to what had happened. The kids asked why they had stopped in the middle of the road; she turned and saw they were okay. The truck had still not stopped and she wondered whether to move on or wait a while in case something else dropped out. Some driver managed to meander and make his way out of the web of cars. He caught up with the truck, which wasn’t all that difficult, as they weren’t doing more than about 30 kilometres per hour. He told the driver about their ‘dropped load’.

ROAD accidents are one of the most common causes of death, especially in those under the age of 45. Granted that accidents will happen, even when people are careful, but it’s a known fact that many accidents could be avoided if simple precautions are taken. For instance, if the truck driver had properly secured its doors then the cylinder would not have fall out and put the lives of so many people at risk. They all were fortunate that ‘nothing’ happened but the story could have been so different.

omoudenta@yahoo.co.uk

(Strictly for the young)BY TOSYN BUCKNORMEET me halfway; people always say that. But nobody means it; for nobody knows what halfway is, anyway! You find that there is someone compromising more (usually the female or the perceived ‘weaker’ one in the relationship), or neither compromises nor clashes occur so constantly that they must split! Once again, you read this and thought I meant non-platonic relationships. But the truth is, it happens in every kind of relationship; even the ones at work or in school! There are some human beings that seem to be generally selfless... at least to the world. One never knows how their families actually feel or felt about them! But it would seem the average person is inherently selfish, and if they had to choose from a set of outcomes, they would choose the one that gave them their own, all the time. But at work, or even from school, you have to learn to work in teams, as some projects require that. And frankly, if everyone got his or her way all the time, then, err... Yeah!

HOW do you then know where to draw that line? When to firm, and when to compromise? How do you know the difference between being selfless and being stupid? How much of a compromise can you make before you feel too empty and not quite yourself any longer? The answer my friend is blowing in the winds!

IN the meantime, I am still trying to figure out what human beings mean when they call someone else ‘selfish’. Do they mean this person is just like them, or do they hate the fact that he won’t just pretend like them? And when they say someone is ‘self-absorbed’? And my favourite, ‘stubborn’? Although I have met stubborn people! And it is not just that they think they know it all, it is that they can’t just be bothered. Which is, perhaps, the biggest crime of all! Personally, I believe it is still all-subjective. Some people get along, others don’t. Some people are more tolerant, others are not. And some people write articles!

SPEAKING of articles... okay, I have no link so I’ll just mention it! In honour of the long weekend that is about to end in 10...9...8...7…, Strictly For The Young would like to put a spotlight on some of the events we heard are coming soon!• The Experience! Get a tee shirt, get on board! It’s on December 4.• Painting Mushin! Yes oh! Fela Durotoye, together with some professional painters and volunteer painters, will be painting some streets in Mushin for eight hours non-stop on Sat December 12! If you would like to be a volunteer, please send us an email and your details will be forwarded to them!• VENUS s.h.a.r.e. The all female networking session for women balancing love, life and career! Emilia Asim-Ita will be speaking, and a doctor will also be in the house! There will be an exhibition, and some spoken word! For more information, please check www.speechgirlbucknor.blogspot.com or www.sharevenus.blogspot.com• WO.M.EN! The hangout for Women in Media and Entertainment holds on December 20 at Swe Bar! We will have more information on what is happening in December and do a special on it!

The Guardian Life Magazine

The entertainment and fashion supplement of The Guardian, Lagos. Established October 2005. The primary focus of the well-written journal is to provide a forum for young people, celebrating role models and good ideas. Our cover stories, which are mostly about "unknown" or "little-known" Nigerians, have influenced millions of Nigerians, and many of those who have appeared on these covers have gone on to win prestigious awards...